CHAPTER#23

Such care and dedication over the last couple of years to making certain that these assets were rightfully passed on to the proper heir, and somehow she had fucked up and missed a storage unit.

"Here." Lily set some coffee in front of Beth.

"I still have my cup from before," Beth said, tapping the lid.

"It's been cold for over an hour. You deserve something fresh." Lily winked, scooping up the old cup and disappearing with it. Beth shook her head, rubbing her eyes. No amount of concealer was going to correct the bags beneath them. She took a sip of the coffee that Lily had brought. Cream, no sugar, just the way she liked it. Lily was a mind reader.

The documents in front of her blurred, and she rubbed her temples. She vaguely remembered the discovery of the storage unit from last week. Why had it gone unnoticed for so long? Emily had been so thoughtful, and the idea that the storage unit had gone unpaid when Emily had retained local attorneys for all her other properties seemed highly unlikely.

"Beth?" It was Marco, one of the legal secretaries. "There's a Sebastien Mueller here to see you."

"Who?" Beth asked, looking past Marco. A pale, blond man with a rather dramatic mustache stood out in the office, leaning on a dark cane. He wore a grey suit with matching loafers.

"He said he's legal counsel for the Historical Preservation Society. He has some questions for you."

"Tell him to make an appointment," Beth said, but Sebastien Mueller pushed his way past Marco, then planted himself firmly in the seat across from Beth. He crossed one leg across the other, one hand firmly on his cane, the other checking a pocket watch. If Mr. Peanut looked like a human, Beth imagined it would be Sebastien Mueller.

"I understand that you are counsel for the Radley Estate?" Sebastien asked, a slight English accent in his voice.

"I don't take walk-ins," Beth informed him, crossing her arms. "If you would like to meet with me, you need to make an appointment with the firm."

"I see." He reached into the breast pocket of his suit. Beth swore to herself that if he pulled out a monocle, she would smack it out of his hand. Instead, a tin of mints appeared, and he pulled a couple out. "Would you like one?"

"No." It was a common tactic. If she accepted the mint, she would at least hear him out. Right now, she had other things to deal with.

"I see." He put the mints back in the tin without taking one for himself.

What the actual fuck? Beth thought. Was her breath really that bad?

"I will be brief. I believe that there is an issue of some serious legal ramifications. Since you are Mr. Radley's representative, I formally request that you schedule a meeting between the three of us. I believe there has been some error in how the estate has been handled, and I would prefer to see it resolved as soon as possible." Sebastien pulled out his pocket watch again. "We could even head over there now if you like. I would prefer it, actually. I have come a very long way to have this meeting."

"Absolutely not." Beth stared daggers at the man, but he ignored her. "First, you need to make an appointment. Then you and I can talk. Afterword, if your case has any merit, I will arrange a meeting with my client and see if he will agree to meet with you."

Sebastien stared blankly into a corner, pretending that he hadn't heard her. Beth waited. She had dealt with this before and knew that he was waiting to interrupt her. Determined to out wait him, she resumed working on her computer, typing herself a nonsensical memo.

Five minutes passed. With a slightly disgruntled look on his face, Sebastien stood, pushing himself upward with his cane.

"I suppose I will be scheduling an appointment with you on the way out," he informed her with no lack of disgust in his voice.

"Sounds great," she said, busy blocking off the next two weeks in her day planner.

"Farewell." He moved toward the door where he collided with Lily, who was walking in with a stack of files. Lily dropped the papers, putting out a hand to steady Sebastien.

"I am so sorry," she told him, crouching down to pick up the files.

"Indeed." Sebastien got a better grip on his cane, rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand. He stopped by the front desk of the office, speaking with Marco. His pale face reddened when Marco opened up Beth's schedule, which made Beth smile.

"What do you have there?" Beth asked, leaving her desk to help Lily.

"Some paperwork from the auction," Lily informed her. "I think I may have found something, but we will have to go down to the storage place."

"Really?" Beth looked over the documents. It was an itemized list of what had been in the storage unit. "How did you get this?"

"Flirted with a guy over the phone." Lily smiled. "Or blackmailed him. Whatever you prefer to hear. Regardless, he's working at the storage unit right now, and he's willing to let us look through their documents. I can't say the same for his boss though."

Beth stared at Lily. Where had this girl come from?

"Okay," she said, closing up her computer. "Let me go pee, and we can head out."

"Sounds good." Lily left the room, and Beth made a quick stop in the bathroom. She bid Marco a farewell and walked out to her car, Lily close on her heels with a fresh cup of coffee for herself. The two of them got in Beth's car, and Beth put the car into gear. Driving out of the parking garage, Beth noticed a Mercedes parked near the exit. Slowing her car down, she saw that Sebastien was behind the wheel, his head tilted to one side.